Open AccessThe image of Michael VIII in the historical works of the Palaiologan period
Author(s) -
Nikolić Maja,
Bojana Pavlović
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
zbornik radova vizantološkog instituta/zbornik radova vizantološkog instituta
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2406-0917
pISSN - 0584-9888
DOI - 10.2298/zrvi1754143n
Subject(s) - reign , throne , emperor , ruler , ancient history , period (music) , byzantine architecture , history , elite , historiography , capital (architecture) , empire , politics , art , law , archaeology , physics , quantum mechanics , political science , aesthetics
The present paper tends to examine the image of the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty, Michael VIII(1259-1282), in the historical works written during the reign of the last Byzantine dynasty and after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. With the analysis of Michael?s coming to the throne and the union of the churches in Lyons in 1274, it looks as if the first ruler of the Palaiologoi was mostly remembered, in historiography and among the most learned, elite circles of the capital, as a usurper of the throne and rights of his minor predecessor, Emperor John IV Laskaris. The blinding of the son of Theodore II was an event that had far reaching consequences not only during the reign of Michael VIII, but also his consequent heirs.